BENGALURU: Indian media and communications group Jagran Prakashan (JPL) reported growth in all numbers, including the bottom line, which propped/ramped up in advertising and circulation revenue during Q3-2014.

JPL reported a 12.71 per cent jump in standalone operating revenue during Q3-2014 to Rs 427.44 crore as compared to the Rs 379.24 crore during the corresponding quarter of last year and 10.92 per cent higher than the Rs 385.35 crore during Q2-2014. The company reported a 6.81 per cent growth in PAT during Q3-2014 to Rs 68.57 crore from Rs 64.2 crore y-o-y.

The company reported growth in standalone advertisement revenue by 14.71 per cent during Q3-2014 to Rs 300.04 crore from Rs 261.56 crore in Q3-2013. Circulation revenue rose by 13.91 per cent y-o-y to Rs 86.11 crore during Q3-2014 from Rs 75.94 crore.

Higher cost of raw materials consumed dampened the bottom line of JPL. During Q3-2014, JPL reported a consolidated foreign exchange gain of Rs 2.41 crore as compared to a loss of Rs 5.85 crore during Q3-2013.

Let us look at the other figures for Q3-2014 reported by JPL

JPL has three revenue streams: the flagship publication Dainik Jagran, other publications such as Naidunia, Midday, etc., and also outdoor, events, mobile solutions, online, etc., with Dainik Jagran being the major contributor on all fronts.

On a consolidated basis, JPL’s operating revenue at Rs 455.20 crore grew 11.05 per cent in Q3-2014 from Rs 409.09 crore in Q3-2013. Consolidated advertising revenue during Q3-2014 grew by 12.18 per cent to Rs 320.42 crore from Rs 285.64 crore in Q3-2013. Consolidated circulation revenue grew by 13.72 per cent to Rs 93.68 crore in Q3-2014 from Rs 82.38 crore in Q3-2013.

Consolidated PAT in Q3-2014 grew 7.76 per cent to Rs 67.67 crore in Q3-2014 from Rs 62.8 crore in Q3-2013.

JPL reported a growth of 11.29 per cent of operating revenue from Dainik Jagran in Q3-2014 to Rs 332.53 crore from Rs 298.79 crore in Q3-2013 and a 9.96 per cent growth from the immediate trailing quarter’s revenue of Rs 302.42 crore. Dainik Jagran’s operating profit in Q3-2014 grew 13.89 per cent to Rs 108.62 crore from Rs 95.37 crore in Q3-2013 and improved by 9.03 per cent from the Rs 99.62 crore reported in Q2-2014.

Operating revenue from other publications grew by 15.15 per cent to Rs 90.23 crore in Q3-2014 from Rs 78.36 crore in Q3-2013 and grew by 9.56 per cent from Rs 80.67 crore in the preceding quarter. Operating profit from this stream was a positive Rs 1.17 crore as compared to the operating loss of Rs (-3.58) crore in Q3-2013 and the loss of Rs (-6.83) crore in Q2-2014.

Outdoor and events operating revenue at Rs 32.89 crore during Q3-2014 showed a growth of 3.85 per cent as compared to the Rs 31.67 per cent in Q3-2013 and a growth of 10.04 per cent as compared to the Rs 29.89 crore in Q2-2014. This stream reported 27.19 per cent fall in operating profit to Rs 0.83 crore in Q3-2014 as compared to the Rs 1.14 crore in Q3-2013, but was almost quadruple (3.95 times) the Rs 0.21 crores during Q2-2014.

JPL reported a 22.76 per cent increase in total expense to Rs 336.83 crore in Q3-2014 as compared to the Rs 274.37 crore in Q3-2013 and 8.4 per cent more than the Rs 311.76 crore in 2-2014. Cost of raw materials consumed went up a whopping 29.73 per cent in Q3-2014 to Rs 152.88 crore as compared to the Rs 117.84 crore in Q3-2013 and was higher by 10.49 per cent as compared to the Rs 138.36 crore in Q2-2014. As mentioned above, the higher cost of raw materials consumed dampened the profits reported by the company.

Depreciation and amortisation increased in Q2-2014 by 10.88 per cent to Rs 18.38 crore from Rs 16.57 crore in Q3-2013 and increased by 5.10 per cent as compared to the 17.49 crore for Q2-2014. The company reported 16.36 per cent higher ‘Other Expense’ for Q3-2014 at Rs 112.56 crore as compared to the Rs 96.74 crore in Q3-2013 and 8.47 per cent more than the Rs 103.79 crore in Q2-2014.

JPL Chairman and Managing Director Mahendra Mohan Gupta said, “The highlights of the quarter are the growth of advertising revenue and further improvement in per copy realisation. This has made it possible for the company to report the highest ever operating profit in spite of the steep hike in the cost of newsprint cost. The increase in cover price has not impacted the planned growth of circulation and all the publications including Naidunia registered a healthy growth.”